Up to 40 Conservative MPs fear Pierre Poilievre will cost them their seats, insiders say

Dissatisfaction and worries about their future under Poilievre’s leadership has many questioning whether or not a bolder move to spark change is required.

Up to 40 Conservative MPs are worried that they could lose their seats if Pierre Poilievre leads the party into the next election against Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney, said two federal Conservative sources after the party lost a fourth MP on Wednesday.

Dissatisfaction and worries about their future under Poilievre’s leadership has many questioning whether or not a bolder move to spark change is required, with some MPs discussing whether to invoke caucus powers to force Poilievre out, according to one federal Conservative. 

Another federal caucus source said they were not aware of any discussions about using powers MPs have under the Reform Act that require just 20 per cent of a caucus to sign a letter that would then force a secret caucus ballot that could oust a sitting leader. But the second source confirmed the first source’s estimation that more than three dozen MPs fear they cannot win re-election under Poilievre.

“That’s real,” said the second source, who declined to be identified in order to speak freely about caucus tensions. 

“People are looking at the polls and they’re saying, you know what, I’m not going to win. This guy isn’t able to change it around and he’s not making the changes around him,” said the source. “It’s just a matter of self-survival.”

“Pierre’s got to go,” said the first source.

Whether or not any MPs actually make a move against Poilievre is unclear, but what many observed is that the Conservatives are in a rut.

“Caucus now just is sitting there, there’s no morale, there is no rah rah rah, there’s no excitement, there’s nothing,” said the second source who spoke to the Star, and suggested Poilievre’s recent forays onto podcasts hosted by a popular British host Steven Bartlett, and American podcaster Joe Rogan did little to expand the party’s reach, adding that senior voters who like Carney “don’t listen to Joe Rogan.”

The insider said Gladu’s move was surprising because she is viewed “not as a centre-conservative, but more of a right-wing conservative” who should have been more at home in Poilievre’s caucus than Carney’s, but the source said Poilievre has “ignored her” for three years.

However, the MP is not prepared to quit Poilievre’s caucus, citing a more pressing desire to stay to ensure the party is a viable governing alternative to the Liberals.

”I don’t want a party of crazies. We need to be a party that’s viewed as reasonable, and have good judgment. There has to be an alternative to Liberals because they (voters) will swing one day and I don’t want to swing it to what we have right now because it’d be no different than the U.S. in some ways and that’s a different game.” 

Conservatives responded with shock to Wednesday’s departure of Gladu, a one-time Conservative leadership candidate, just before the Liberals gather in Montreal for a policy convention, days before byelection votes are scheduled in three ridings — two in Toronto and one in the Montreal area. The Liberals are expected to win the Toronto races. The Montreal one is seen as a toss-up between the Liberals and the Bloc Québécois.

Even without the three riding results, the current vacancies mean that Liberals have now got 171 MPs, one more than the combined 170 votes of all of the Opposition parties.

Gladu’s exit leaves the Conservatives with 140 MPs.

Poilievre reacted via a statement on “X”, formerly Twitter by criticizing Carney for what he calls an undemocratic power play.

“Mark Carney seizing a costly Liberal majority that voters denied him, and doing so through backroom deals,” the leader said, in a statement similar to his reactions at the departure of three other Conservative MPs over the past several months.

Poilievre called on Gladu to live up to her own words that “floor crossers should face voters in a byelection to give voters the final say. I could not agree more. She should do so. The people in her community voted for our Conservative vision of a Canada that is affordable, safe, and strong at home, not for the costly Liberal government she has now joined. She should honour her word and let voters decide.”

Alongside Carney, Gladu revealed her stunning decision first on X and then in a photo opportunity in the Prime Minister’s Office across from Parliament, in which she did not directly criticize Poilievre, but praised Carney as someone she aligns with.

“We need a serious leader who can address the uncertainty that has arrived due to the unjustified American tariffs. We need a global leader with a plan to make a more resilient Canada, a stronger Canada, more self-reliant Canada, for this critical moment, and that man is our prime minister, Mark Carney.”

Her move instantly revived talk of whether Poilievre can keep his grip on his restive caucus, despite his winning more than 87 per cent support of party members at a leadership review vote two months ago.